Kuma
Kuma is a powerful, muscular, massive brown wolf, one of the members of the Chakra Heroes. Despite his big size, he is a very sensitive person, and he dislikes fighting physically, so he tries to scare enemies away thanks to his powers and size. Physical appearance Kuma is a huge, large, heavy, short, thick legged wolf. He is the biggest chakra hero, and he appears as a massive, poderous character. Kuma's head is almost perfectly round, with a short muzze and wide ears, each of which has a notch on its outer side. Kuma's neck is also short, and it's hidden under a huge amount of spiky fur which forms a mane around it. Kuma is also wearing a blue collar all the time, which is buckled very tight right under the attachment of his head. The mane on his neck, which rises up, contributes to keep it always adherent to the bottom of his head. Attached to the collar, we find a golden, round bell. Kuma's legs are thick and short, with huge paws and muscular elbows and knees. Despite his size, he is actually well proportioned and is not supposed to look overweight. Kuma has three deep scars on his back, the middle one being the longest and deepest. His tail is short and quite fluffy. The overall body colour is brown, with a darker brown tone on his head and ear markings, mane, spine and rear legs up to the knees, and his front legs starting from the elbows down. His tail is the same dark brown as his markings, with a black tip. Kuma's eyes are wide and bright green in colour. Personality Despite his distinctive size, Kuma is not aggressive or bossy, rather, he is shy and sensitive, reserved, quiet, kind and benevolent, responsible, meditative and fair. He is also a little fragile, easily hurt by insults, which can make him insecure and weak. In a difficult situation, Kuma easily acts without thinking and takes hasty decisions, this is the main reason why he loves working in a group: this way, there is always someone who can stop him from doing something too dangerous. Kuma is scared of his immense strength, because he often loses control over it, so he can hurt his enemies as well as those he loves. This is why Kuma prefers fighting from a distance, using his fire powers, and avoiding physical take on. Sometimes, he behaves in a rather feminine way, since, as he says "He understands girls better than boys", and his favourite hobby is learning about plants and flowers. He is an expert of sakura (cherry blossoms). History Before the events of the comic Despite his bear resemblance, Kuma's parents were both average wolves. He was born a little oversize, the first of three cubs. Kuma's two sisters would have come from a second litter. Ever since he was born, Kuma has always been very curious about the world and its surroundings, so he soon left his old pack to wander on his own, in search of adventure. He was still very young and inexperienced, and he soon felt the need to hunt on his own to survive. Despite that, he could not manage to catch anything. Only some days later, he found a carcass and was forced to feed on that. Little did he know that the owner of the carcass was a huge bear, and that it was furious at him! In his desperate race for safety, Kuma tripped in the bushes and the bear was over him in no time. The creature scratched him and left a deep wound on his back with its claws. Incapable of reacting, Kuma swooned for the pain, and the bear left him alone, believing him dead. Meanwhile, his parents and sisters, who had heard him screaming, came and brought him back to the den. As of Chapter One Kuma does not make any appearance in Chapter One. However, the following events take place during the one-year gap between Chapters One and Two. The days passed as Kuma's wounds were still open and bleeding, and his parents could not find a way to prevent them from. However, the young wolf was strong and refused to give up. His incredible desire of surviving was burning within him like a fire. Right in those days, the forming pack of C.Y., Led, Hielo, Flama, Orca, Cheetah's brother and Motyl was passing by, and they noticed that Kuma was suffering. His parents desperately asked for help, and among the young wolves, Motyl promised that she would give her best to heal his wound. Despite her powers not being fully developed yet, Motyl put all her strength in her powers and managed to stop the bleeding, while Hielo kept on supporting him and telling him not to give up. Kuma was still weak, yet he was totally grateful for what Motyl and the others had done for him. As soon as he gained his stengths back, Kuma's personality changed a lot. He was no longer adventurous and bold, nay he had learned from his mistakes and became calm, shy and sensitive. Despite this, his experience had taught him a harsh lesson, and his body had been tempered by a fire that was yet to die out, a fire of courage and pure surviving spirit. When he was strong enough to walk on his legs, Kuma immediately asked C.Y. if he could join her group, as a sign of acknowledgment, especially towards Motyl. Seeing that their son was about to leave and nothing would have changed his mind, Kuma's parents gave him one last present before he left: a blue collar with a bell hanged to it, because, they said, "Whenever this bell rings, you'll know that we are thinking about you, and that we love you". Heartbroken by these words, Kuma said goodbye with tears in his eyes. As of Chapter Two Kuma appears at the top of the hill along with other Chakra Heroes in the moment Red is about to smack Inabe with his clawed paw. When the battle between the two packs starts he is seen charging at Red and Red's Minions. He appears behind Soren after Hielo freezes his fur with his powers. Kuma offers to melt the ice which results in setting Soren’s butt on fire. After Red flees with his pack Motyl introduces him and her friends to Inabe. As the conversation goes on she listens to Inabe telling the Heroes about the Destiny Sword. When Inabe leaves with his pack Kuma along with Hielo starts to wonder what Inabe’s riddle may mean, but Led decided that they should head back to their headquarters. Later, the same night, the Heroes try to think of all Sword’s possible locations until Led comes up with the idea of venturing to Konohana Island, saying it is full of deep caves. The next morning Kuma arrives at the shore of the Island. When C.Y. asks about the tree growing in the centre of the island he immediately explains that is it Konohana, the guardian of this area. After Cheetah picks a cave and the Heroes enter it, Kuma is the one who lights the way, creating a small fire on his paw, as the cave is pitch black. When C.Y. suddenly leaps forward Kuma runs after her. They discover that the statue is of Shiranui. He becomes sad when C.Y. turns to Led to ask for his thoughts on the situation. Soon a laugh can be heard in the cave. As of Chapter Three As of Chapter Four As of Chapter Five As of Chapter Six Relationships With C.Y. C.Y. and Kuma share a very complicated bond. She considers him a great friend, and she feels responsible for him getting injured because she understands his character, which is very sensitive, but she does not feel anything bigger than that, because her heart is just for Led. On the other hand, however, Kuma does feel something for her, which he is too timid to reveal, also because he knows Led is fond of her too. Kuma is contantly trying to get C.Y,'s attention, even by risking Led's harsh reaction, however, she does not seem, or want, to notice. This fact makes him very sad and useless. This often brings him to behave in a foolish way just to get noticed by her. With Motyl Kuma also shares a relationship with Motyl, as he owes her his life. Attracted by her from the beginning, he will try to court her more than once, however, she will not find attraction in him. Kuma's love interest would later shift to C.Y., however, he will be forever grateful for her saving his life. When he accidentally attacks her after losing control, Kuma's heart shatters: he almost killed the one who saved his life! After that episode, Kuma tends to avoid meeting eyes with Motyl, fearing she would be mad at him, while she actually is not. With Hielo Kuma and Hielo share a very special relationship. The two are almost like brothers, and interestingly enough, they also share physical similarities: they both look bulky, they both have deep scars, and their powers, Fire and Ice, are the opposite of each other. Being the wisest of the two, Hielo acts like an "older brother" for Kuma, and he is sincerely worried if he gets hurt or if he is in danger. On the other hand, Kuma feels bonded to Hielo and would never hurt him, not even if he lost control over his powers like he often does. Powers and abilities Kuma owns an amazing power: not only is he able to swallow huge objects whole, thanks to his Manipura Chakra which allows his stomach to contain pretty much anything, but also, he developed amazing abilities in manipulating fire. Kuma can produce fire from his paws, and can combust objects around him with the sole power of his mind. His tremendous power does not have effect on his own self: Kuma can be enveloped in flames or walk on burning carbon without receiving any damage. Anyway, since he does not own the necessary psychich strength to withstand such power, he often loses control of it, and he risks of injuring his own friends. Techniques The techniques the Heroes used are unnamed in the comic. However, they do have a name to be distinguished. Blaze: Kuma bursts fire from his paws and from the ground surrounding him. The fire is strong enough to light everything around. Scorching Fang: Kuma's bite becomes incandescent and leaves deep burnings. Inferno: Kuma's most powerful technique. A high wall of fire surrounds the enemy and incinerates everything around. Trivia *The initial design for Kuma was that of a hyena. The design was later scrapped. **Interestingly enough, the idea for Kuma's current design was also about to be scrapped, because it looked unoriginal. Further changes to the design, however, made it appealing enough for the comic. *Kuma was the last Chakra Hero to be invented. *His character shares similarities with that of Terra from Teen Titans. *In his early design, Kuma had three additional scars other than the ones on his back: one on his nose bridge, one on his right eye, one on his left rear leg. The idea was later scrapped. **Similarly, during character modifications, two of these scars have been moved: the one on his right eye passed on to his left eye, and the one on his left rear leg moved to his left shoulder. The one on his nose bridge, however, remained unchanged. **In his early design, Kuma was much taller and slender, however, his neck and head were already supposed to look bulky. His body was out of proportion at the time. *During a scene in the comic, Kuma was supposed to save C.Y. from a monster creature threatening her. The idea was later scrapped. *In the comic, Hielo and Kuma share a brotherly relationship. This is a reference to Hielo's twin sister, Flama. **Interestingly enough, Kuma has fire powers, and the name of Hielo's sister, Flama, also reminds of fire. Read more